It is known to provide a rearward facing camera or imaging sensor or device at a rear of a vehicle and with a generally rearward and downward field of view to capture images of the area immediately rearward of the vehicle for a rear vision system or back up aid system or the like. Examples of such rear vision devices and systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,005,974; 6,989,736; 6,757,109; 6,717,610; 6,396,397; 6,201,642; 6,353,392; 6,313,454; 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,796,094; 5,877,897; 6,097,023; and 6,498,620, and PCT Publication No. WO 2004/047421 A2, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
For parking into parallel parking spots along a street it is also known to provide a camera mounted on the passenger side of the vehicle, facing generally rearward and to the side, thereby providing the driver a better view of the curb and other objects to the side of the vehicle.
To connect two or more video sources to the same display video switches are often used to toggle between the alternative video sources. An example of an in-vehicle video architecture using video switching is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,050,089, which is incorporated hereby by reference in its entirety. Video switches may be stand alone control units or integrated with other control units, e.g. a display device.
While a video switch is useful to share one display between two or more cameras it adds significant cost. Therefore, it is desirable to share one display device between two or more cameras without the need for a video switch.